Chocolate chestnut brownies
Ever since my favourite pâtissier left the farmers market, I’ve been craving a really good chocolate brownie. I used to always buy mine from Dream Cuisine, and am quite lost without them. One of my favourite things about the winter markets are the chestnuts. I do like to buy a bag of hot, roasted chestnuts to eat while I do my shopping or finish off in Canberra’s warm winter sun while I wait for my market buddy to take me home. Well, this year Featherdale Chestnuts have started selling chestnut flour that they mill with their delicious nuts.
I love an excuse to use chestnut flour. It is high in fibre and is gluten free. It also has a wonderful natural sweetness that I like to play with. I love my chocolate brownies good and fudgy, so I often make them gluten free. Chocolate and chestnuts are such a great combination that it seemed only natural to me to use this local chestnut flour for my home made brownies. I adore the finished product. They are rich, fudgy and not too sweet. They’re also super easy to whip up if you melt your butter in a big enough saucepan, it’s a one ‘bowl’ mix.
Ingredients
| 125 | grams | butter |
| 125 | grams | good quality, dark chocolate at least 70% cocoa solids. I always use Fair Trade. |
| 1 | pinch | salt |
| ¾ | cup | brown sugar |
| ¾ | cup | raw sugar |
| ½ | taspoon | vanilla paste |
| 3 | free range eggs | |
| ¼ | cup | cocoa powder |
| 1 | cup | chestnut flour |
Preheat the oven to 180oC.
Melt the butter in a saucepan with the chocolate, mixing well to make sure the chocolate doesn’t stay directly on the saucepan. When they are just melted together, whisk in the salt and sugars, then the vanilla and eggs. Lastly, fold through the cocoa and chestnut flour.
Line a 20cm square baking tin. Pour in the brownie mix and bake at 180oC for 35-40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out with small crumbs on it.
Allow them to cool completely before removing from the tin. Use a sharp knife to cut into pieces.
Susan's Sumptuous Suppers 
sounds delicious Sumptuous Susan! Think I’ll give it a go too!
Sounds so delicious! What’s the price like for the chestnut flour?
It’s expensive Michele. Featherdale are charging $20 a bag. I don’t quite know how much is in a bag. But, unlike wheat flour, chestnut flour is packed full of healthful goodies including proteins, fibre, minerals and vitamins
Thanks Susan! And an interesting flavour too